Olivia BurtonWilliam N. Eddins Award

for ExcellenceSocial Studies Department

AwardTop 5% of Class

Claire GormanDistinguished Senior Girl

Top 5% of Class

Anne Peyton BakerCharles Mason Award for

LeadershipSpanish Department Award

Top 5% of Class

Makenzie GrantHarold Patterson Award

for ServiceTop 5% of Class

Spartan Crest Awards

Daniel BolusDistinguished Senior Boy

Science and BandDepartment Awards

Top 5% of Class

Honors Issue

Christian AndersonAnne Peyton BakerMadelyn BeattyEmily BedellMegan BemowskiPeter BerrymanDaniel BolusLucas BradleyCaroline BramlettWill BrewsterElizabeth CluttonSam CochranWilliam ColeTaylor CoxForrester DeBuysTillman DrewNichole EdgeKatherine FrancisMimi Fullan

Russell GallowayCaroline GoolsbyClaire GormanElizabeth HaberstrohKatie HarrisonElizabeth HymerWayne IngramBen JacksonTatum JacksonWill JacksonTyler JaffeHarrison JonesVirginia JordanDavis KellyFrancie KenanCaroline KilpatrickCatherine KinneyAnita KlasingDemi Leara

Elizabeth LetzerRick LewisBetsy LimbaughChristian LowmanMurray ManleyDuncan MathewsDavis McDougalDeanna MedinaCaroline MilliganHannah MouyalLucy NealElise NesbittDaniel NevilleGeorge PerrineFrank PhillipsCaroline PowellAmelia PutnamRachael ReddyJohn Resha

Kari ReynoldsAbbie RodgersAlex SchultzMaggie SeleskyCourtney SheaAnnie SheffieldMaddie SheffieldChamblee ShufflebargerAnna SmithArthur SmithLottice TaylorHerron TaylorJohn TullyMae Rose TysonMary Glenn WaldropSelah WoodFord WoodMichelle Wu

National Merit Finalists

Jessica AzrinAnne Peyton BakerJohn BlumDaniel BolusOlivia BurtonSarah CainAdelaide CochranSam CochranEverette DawkinsDani DiehlBen GarciaCaroline Goolsby

Claire GormanMakenzie GrantBen JacksonCatherine KinneyMurray ManleyKary ReynoldsMary Nix RobersonMaggie SeleskyChamblee ShufflebargerAnna SmithEddy Yu

Senior wills and college choices coming soon!

The Sword & Shield will be publishing a new Senior issue in mid-May featuring senior wills,

college choices, and many memorable pictures and quotes to

honor the class of 2014.

Vol. XLVIII No. 6 Mountain Brook High School May 1, 2014the Sword & Shield

Patrick KeimU.S. Marines Distinguished

Athlete Award

Caroline KilpatrickU.S. Marines Semper

Fidelis Award for Musical Excellence

Ben JacksonDonald E. Lytle

ScholarshipPhotography Award

Carlee PetroDonna Robinett Tennis

Award

Jacob WeinackerDonna Robinett Tennis

Award

Everette DawkinsKevin Butrus

Memorial ScholarshipTop 5% of Class

Catherine KinneyKey Club Service Award

Maggie SeleskySGA Service Award

Latin Department AwardTop 5% of Class

Maddie SheffieldInteract Club

Service Award Top 5% of Class

Rick LewisAmbassadors Club

Service AwardEnglish Department Award

Hannah MouyalDanforth “I Dare You”

Leadership Award Courteney Cox

Scholarship

Austin RussellDanforth “I Dare You”

Leadership AwardFrank Trechsel Scholarship

Spirit of the Theatre and Outstanding Leadership in Choral Music Awards

Laura StagnoMartha Carrel Bankston

Memorial AwardTop 5% of Class

Peter BerrymanSAR Good Citizenship

AwardChris Holley Athletic Spirit

Award

Mary Shelton Hornsby

Anne-Marie Graphos Award for Good Citizenship

Caroline GoolsbyJan Eubank Memorial

DAR Good Citizenship Award

French Department Award

Tatum JacksonU. S. Army Scholar/Athlete

Award

Kary ReynoldsU.S. Marines Scholastic

Excellence AwardTop 5% of Class

Collier OgilvieU.S. Marines Distinguished

Athlete Award

Matthew WeissmanU. S. Army Scholar/Athlete

Award

2 thursday, May 1, 2014 the Sword & Shieldhonors

Deanna MedinaLisa Paden Gaines Theatre

Scholarship

Katie SeegerBusiness Education Award

Herb Hanes-Bill Sparks Scholarship

Bailey SandersonCareer Cooperative Education Award

Rhea NathanCareer Focus Award

Jack FitzpatrickDebate Department Award

Katie HarrisonKappa Delta Scholarship

Christian AndersonNicholas Franklin Pierce

Memorial Scholarship

Charles WhiteMary Anne Adams

Scholarship

Grace FindleyPTO Scholarship2-D Art Award

Kate PowellPTO Scholarship

Dani Diehl Top 5% of Class

Ben GarciaTop 5% of Class

Sarah CainTop 5% of Class

Murray ManleyTop 5% of Class

Cole PeckTop 5% of Class

Elizabeth HymerTop 5% of Class

Frank PhillipsTop 5% of Class

Math Department Award

Dara BuggayTop 5% of Class

Jake ErbaBubba Daves Memorial

Scholarship

Reid ParrottRay Benson Scholarship

3honorsthursday, May 1, 2014the Sword & Shield

Junior Awards

Katie Sanfelippo Memorial Award for Outstanding

Sophomore GirlSophie Brint

Washington & Lee Award for Achievement

Sara Chandler Mitchell

Kevin Butrus Memorial Award for Outstanding

Sophomore BoyJake Sansom

Rhodes College Book Award

Helen Catherine Darby

Sophomore Awards

Trey LockettTechnical Theatre Award

Rachael ReddyColonel George V. Irons

Distance Trophy

Joseph Davidson3-D Art Award

Anita KlasingDistinguished Drama

Student Award

Yale University Book AwardLindsey Kirk

Harvard University Book AwardJohn Sisson

Dartmouth College Book AwardClaire Davis

University of Pennsylvania Book AwardEllie Naff

Wake Forest University Book AwardCasey Fan

Jefferson Book Award Vince Bolus

George Washington University Alumni Book AwardPaul Roth

Wellesley College Book AwardLowry Neil

Smith College Book AwardMadeline Michell

Bryn Mawr President’s Book AwardHampton Adams

Renssalaer Medal for Math and ScienceEllie Naff

Wheaton College Award for Fine ArtsWilliam Pankey

Sewanee Award for Excellence in WritingLindsey Kirk

Hollins College Book Award for Creative WritingChandler Gory

Clinton Taylor Memorial Scholarship for Debate Award

Ben Jones

4 Thursday, May 1, 2014 the Sword & Shieldhonors

Mary MaudeCrenshaw

Drawing and Painting Award

Stewart HawkColonel George V. Irons

Distance Trophy

Jack RoyerBroadcasting Award

Business CompletersMary Stewart Beasley

Annie BloomstonEric Bloomston

John BostonMaddison Bromberg

Chris CarpenterCarson CroweTillman Drew

Adelaide DunnAlan DunnJosh Faber

Bradford FlakeJake Fleisher

Banks FulmerSally Gamble

Graham HarshStewart Hawk

Anna Kate Healey

Anna HenningWheeler JonesHarrison Jones

Bo LuttrellMaggie Miller

John David NaborsRhea Nathan

Walt PriceWill Reis

Sarah RileyShirazeh RogersJenna Routman

Katie SeegerJack Segal

Walker SewellNoah WatermanCharles WhiteJake Wooley

5Newsthursday, May 1, 2014The Sword & Shieldthursday, May 1, 2014The Sword & Shield

By DANIEL BOLUSStaff Writer

An early relay (April 4), 70% chance of severe thunderstorms, seven snow days behind: the odds were not lined up in favor of Mountain Brook’s Relay for Life this year. However, the Moun-tain Brook community rallied together and pulled off a spectacular event. According to senior and Relay Co-Chair Anne Peyton Baker, “With relay early this year, not to mention the nearly-avoided thunderstorms the day of, it is amazing how well we did the night of relay, and we are so happy with how it went.” After a final fundraiser called “Kick for a Cure” at the soccer games the week after relay, Relay Co-Chairs Catherine Kinney and Anne Peyton Baker are happy to announce a grand total of $227,662 (and counting) for the American Cancer Society. This achievement could not have been possible without the behind-the-scenes efforts of all of the Relay Chairs, the Interact Club, the relay sponsor Ms. Katrina McGuire, and the Moun-tain Brook community at large. However, this total is not final. Relay for Life will continue to accept money toward our total and towards beating Vestavia until August. The night of relay itself was, to be frank, a blast. The food and drinks sold included crepes, Chick-Fil-A, waffles, Harry Potter Butterbeer, cotton candy, cupcakes, lemonade, popsicles, and anything and everything in between. Activities elevated the spirit of the night, consisting of live bands, mel-on smashing contests, pie crushing, vice-principal-dunking, and cake walks, not to mention the endless game of tag that seemed to occur among children full of sugar. Even live gold-fish were sold. But Relay for Life must be remem-bered for what it was intended for. Beginning with the Survivorship lap, one cannot help but to reflect on how

meaningful our efforts are to those who are battling and to those who have survived cancer. Such a fun-filled night immediately turns to reflection and remembrance of those who are—and also to those who are not—able to walk on the survivorship lap. This serious tone culminated in the Luminaria Ceremony, where Interact members spelled out “HOPE” and “CURE” using lighted white bags on the school bleachers. As we walked quietly around the track, viewing the luminaria bags and remembering those affected by cancer, ABOG sang a powerful rendition of “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” According to senior and ABOG member Trey Lockett, “Singing during the Luminaria Ceremony was very peaceful. It was a wonderful experi-ence to be doing something that I love as a part of the entire event, and to add to the mood of the night was very enjoyable.” Another unique feature of the night were the Sky Lanterns—little “hot air balloons” that were released from the top of the bleachers and drifted off into the night as a memory or in honor of someone who has had cancer. These different aspects of relay came together and offered a sense of grat-ification for our efforts as a commu-nity to make an impact on the world around us. At the same time, they also inspired a sense of urgency and pur-pose for the meaning of relay in years to come. I know that the Mountain Brook community will eagerly accept this challenge and help finish the fight.

An early Mountain Brook relay yields great results

Photo by Catherine LoweRelay chairs Anne Peyton Baker, Mary Fran Wright, Mary Frances, Katie Reiss, Catherine Kinney, and Paul Roth all take a break after setting up a sucessful Relay.

Letter from the new editors

Well, the school year is finally coming to a close, but this year is going to end with a bang and not a whimper, whatever T. S. Eliot says. Baseball playoffs, Awards Day, Honors Day, AP exams, those final papers and tests that you completely forgot were coming, those tests and papers that you really just didn’t feel like studying for and now wish you had ... all of these coming together for one last push before summer break starts and for a few blissful months we are free from the school rush. The writers here at The Sword & Shield have made the switch already to the next school year, handing over the controls to the young and naive rising seniors and juniors. That’s right,

this is Claire Davis and John Sisson, not those slackers Olivia and Rick. In all seriousness, these new editors have worked very hard to bring you the latest about Relay results, the scoop on summer reading, and the beef on Taco Bell’s new breakfast. There are new bands to listen to, places to eat, things to ponder, and things to remember, all stuffed in this 20 page issue. Seniors, don’t worry: your time is coming. The senior wills and college choices are coming to you in the next issue so get ready. We wish you a great summer! Thanks for reading, John and Claire

The Sword & ShieldCo-Editor-in-Chief: Olivia BurtonCo-Editor-in-Chief: Rick Lewis

Art & Photography Editor: Claire DavisNews Editor: Kary ReynoldsSports Editor: Alec Lewis

Features Editor: Ben JacksonOpinions Editor: Mary Nix Roberson

Reviews Editor: Brooks GloverBusiness Manager: Mathilde Sharman

Managing Editor: Chandler Gory

Staff Writers

Sponsors: Ms. Catherine Lowe and Mr. Peter Perez

Letters to the Editors PolicyThe Sword & Shield welcomes Letters to the Editors from its readers. We re-serve the right to edit any letters for grammar, length, or libel; however, the meaning will be preserved. Whenever possible, changes made with a letter will be discussed with the author prior to publication. All letters must be signed, but

names may be withheld upon request. Email letters to gosands@gmail.com.

The Sword & ShieldMountain Brook High School

3650 Bethune DriveMountain Brook, AL 35223Telephone: (205) 414-3800

Fax: (205) 969-8113

Printing made possible byAlabama Web Press

1793 Eva RoadCullman, AL 35055

Telephone: (256) 734-5104

John CooperWill Davis

Chandler GoryMargaret Heath

Natalie Jones

Scott LepleyCaroline LoweCoke Matthews

Frances HancockChamblee Shufflebarger

John SissonBrooke TuckerDaniel Bolus

Madeline MitchellMaddie Sheffield

thursday, May 1, 2014 The Sword & Shield6News

Newly-elected Super Seven members rock the BrookBy CLAIRE DAVIS

Art and Photography Editor

Spring has come again and with it has come SGA elections. The most prominent of these elections is the illustrious Super Seven who are in charge of all the class rep-resentatives and presidents. These seven positions will be filled next year by juniors Vince Bolus as President, Michael Clark as boys’ Vice President, Ellie Naff as girls’ Vice President, Natalie Jones as Secretary, Katie Reiss as Treasurer, Madalyn Rosenthal as Parliamen-tarian, and Cate Harmon as Chap-lin. While the SGA is a central part of our school, the actual organi-zation changes every year with each senior class and its elected Super Seven. The job is tough- this group manages Homecoming week almost independently, as well as

prom, and the two blood drives, and in addition works hard year long to make sure the students’ voices are heard in the administra-tion. This year, there was very little competition for the positions-stu-dents only voted for two offices, which were that of Treasurer and Boys’ Vice President. The other five offices were uncontested, resulting in an easy appointment to power for over half the committee. This isn’t such a surprise consid-ering all the work and people the seven are in charge of. Why would these students put knowingly add work to their senior year, when most take a break? The reasons vary. President Bolus said, “I enjoyed being in SGA in previous years, and I wanted to be more involved in the school system and learn the mechanics of the school

and its faculty.” Though they all have tough jobs, this next year’s group is ready and committed to the school to per-

form their jobs as student repre-sentatives as well as possible. “I just really want to make next year a great year for everyone,” Jones said.

Photo by Claire DavisBen Jackson, this year’s SGA president, introduces the candidates for the Su-per Seven positions as Murray Manley looks on.

By MADDIE SHEFFIELDStaff Writer

The junior SGA planned and delivered the theme of “Illuminate the Night” at this year’s junior-se-nior prom. On April 5, Mountain Brook’s upperclassmen danced the night away with Motown and science. The senior class officers set up the essentials: the venue, the band, and the food. After considering previous venues such as Ted’s Garage and Iron City Birmingham, the Senior SGA decided on the event room above the main rooms of the McWane Center. The planning started earlier than you would think; the officers toured the McWane Center in November. to make sure it was a suitable place to host prom. Senior sponsor Ms. Heather Wood said, “In order to book the venue and the band, we had to start planning early.” Once students reached the destination, the McWane Center provided plenty of parking. Al-though finding the right room for the dance was tricky, once there, Officer Kelley was waiting to point students in the right direction. Walking down the hallway, dancers immediately reached the wooden dance-floor with the stage stationed directly behind. To the left of the main room, there were chairs and tables for those tired of dancing and platters filled with

delicious desserts, with everything from chocolate chip cookies to cheesecake. On the other side of the dancers, students could go into the exhibits and play fun science games, such as racing a robot. Senior Margaret Pitman said, “My favorite part of the prom was toy-ing around with all the machines!” The band made the dancers twirl and dip to their swinging tunes. The main vocalists harmonized on classics, such as “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder and others from Earth Wind and Fire. T he band also played new hits as well. Senior John Horton said, “When they played ‘Blurred Lines’ by Robin Thicke, everyone rushed to the dance-floor.” Along with the usual band set, this band added a trumpet and saxophone to further perfect their sound. Whenever the singers did not know the lyrics to the dancers’ favorites, they would look up the words and perform the classics with their own flair. The senior officers found them on YouTube, watching their videos, and calling the companies that backed them. Bopping to the upbeat songs and swaying to the slow songs, the ju-niors and seniors danced the night away. The science exhibits offered an enjoyable alternative to those that tired of dancing. A screen that con-tinually showed a rainy day allowed viewers to mess with the simula-tion, sloshing the rain around the

screen. Other favorites includ-ed an interactive illumination screen, where one could draw anything with the lights, and giant piano keys. Senior Mary Glenn Waldrop said, “The science sections of the prom really helped the McWane Center stand out as a venue.” In one game, a player moved his hand closer to a box, which transmitted a signal. The closer one’s hand got, the more a wheel inside the box moved. Another competition was with a manually operated robot. Here, a player raced the machine to build a shape with geometric pieces. Offering more options to dancegoers, the science displays allowed every student to enjoy the prom. From mouth-watering desserts to a bumping dance floor, prom rocked the house. The decorations set the glam-orous and sparkling mood. Students lounged at the tables, twirled on the floor, and explored the exhibits. There was something for every-one at the McWane Center.

Spring colors and swing dancers: How MBHS does prom

Photo by Maddie SheffieldMargaret Pitman takes a break from danc-ing and plays with one of the great toys in the McWane Center.

7thursday, May 1, 2014The Sword & Shield 7Features

Ms. Ponder says goodbye to teaching and Alabama

By MADELINE MITCHELLStaff Writer

As this school year comes to a close, so does the career of one of Mountain Brook’s beloved teachers. Ms. Harlan Ponder, who currently teaches 10th grade English, will re-tire at the end of this year to move to Texas and pursue other interests. When The Sword & Shield sat down to talk with her about this new step in her life, Ms. Ponder said that she is “looking forward to having time to do volunteer work,” pursuing a love that has already taken her on an international mission trip as well as short- term trips. However, Ms. Ponder is most excited about getting married in June and moving to Dallas, Texas. “I’m excited to meet new people and have new experiences,” she said. “I’m also looking forward to being able to read and not have to wait until the school break. I can just read a book whenever I want to, and I’m so excited about that! I love to read and never have enough time.” While Ms. Ponder will not con-tinue teaching in a formal setting, she says, “I will be a teacher forever because that is who God created me to be. I’m just going to take my teaching and use it in other set-tings. I may use it tutoring inner city kids. I may use it teaching teachers how to teach.” Reflecting back on her 29 years of teaching, Ms. Ponder recalled that teachers did not even have computers when she began. “When I was first teaching, we didn’t even have Xerox machines. We had these purple mimeograph sheets, so I’ve really seen information change in the way that you access it,” she

said. Students have also changed. Stu-dents today “have immediate access to so much information” and “want more immediate gratification because the technology has made everything so fast.” However, students have not changed in that “there are still kids who are going to have a good strong work ethic, and there are kids who are going to do the min-imum effort. It was that way when I first started teaching and it’s that way now. It’s been that way every year that I’ve taught,” Ms. Ponder said. Like many students, Ms. Pon-der’s favorite school memory is the night that Mountain Brook beat Hoover in football, but her favorite teaching moment has to be when she and another teacher surprised a student, who had been struggling to pass the Alabama High School graduation exam, to tell him that he had finally succeeded. One thing she will miss though is “being in the loop with teen-agers. I’m going to be totally out of the loop when I leave the high school, and I’m going kind of miss that,” Ms. Ponder said. “But not so much that I’m going to change my mind about retiring.” Ms. Ponder is thankful that she has gotten the opportunity to teach at the high school “because I have known some of the most precious young adults.” While she has taught at many levels of educa-tion, “the high school is by far my favorite because of the energy of high school kids. There’s nowhere I would rather be teaching,” she says. Let her final lesson be this: “Listen,” she says. “Listen to your parents. Listen to your teachers. They really do know some things from which you can learn.”

Tearing down barriers and teaching forgiveness: Once on This Island

By MARGARET HEATHStaff Writer

The performance by the choir and drama departments has surely high-lighted the incredible abilities of some extremely gifted students. If you were not available to see the musical “Once on This Island”, which was arranged by Music Theatre International Inc. and ran from Thursday, April 10, to Monday, April 14, you missed out, as the acts were a sight to behold. Opening night was nerve rack-ing for the cast, as they had to work diligently in a short amount of time to bring the musical together. In addition to the cast, the pit orchestra and stage crew also had their share of stress, as they rushed to form what ultimately became a polished and beautiful pro-duction. On opening night, the cast gathered at the edges of the stage as the lights began to fade out. From the witty storytellers sequence in the first scene, to sophomore Emilie Harwell singing her heart and soul out in “Pray,” to the final scene in which the entire cast gathered together to sing “Why We Tell the Story,” the night had a charm-ing feel to it. Even with the nervousness that surrounds opening day, some of the actors were able to calm down enough

to share their feelings on how the first night went. Junior Coleman Escue, who played Agwe the sea god, ex-claimed after the show “I think [the show] went really well and I’m really happy with how we performed tonight in front of our first crowd.” he declared while rubbing his head and express-ing some less poetic feelings “[I’m] so glad I got that wig off, I looked like a Smurf.” (Maybe only a little.) Although she was extremely tired after playing the lead as Ti Moune, senior Hannah Mouyal claimed, “We’ve had a long week of rehearsal, but it was worth it.” The rest of the cast members were being congratulated by family and friends, as everyone poured into the lobby after the show. As one of the more serious pro-ductions to be put on by the drama and choir departments, the musical touched upon some less than savory parts of colonialism, like racism and abuse. Yet the play also hit upon forgiveness for those who have done wrong. Told to a young child, it does not have the cliché happy ending, but one which required the viewers to take their own opinion on what happened. Once again the drama and choir de-partments outdid themselves to make an allover outstanding show which was enjoyed by everyone in attendance.

Photo by Margaret HeathHannah Mouyal, leans over Daniel Beauxhomme, Reid Parrott, as onlookers tell her to let the rich boy die.

Photo by Olivia Burton

thursday, May 1, 2014 The Sword & Shield8Features

St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Birmingham’s version of Alabama ShakesBy RICK LEWIS

Outgoing Co-Editor in Chief

In April 2009, Alabama was put back on the musical map when Ath-ens’ garage rock band, the Alabama Shakes, released their first album, “Boys and Girls,” to rave reviews, with critics and listeners alike praising the band’s glorious homage to Southern rock at its finest. Alabama Shakes reintroduced the American public to the soulful, bluesy sound of true roots rock, and Athens underwent a rejuvenation of its own musical heritage. But what about Birmingham? Well, as of 2013, Birmingham has its new musical claim to fame: St. Paul and the Broken Bones. A seven-piece neo-soul group led by frontman Paul Janeway, St. Paul and the Broken Bones has broken onto the musical scene in what seems like record time. The group was formed by vocal-ist Janeway and bassist Jesse Phillips during the mid-2000s. Originally, the

two saw their recordings as a final side project before moving on with their lives - Janeway was a senior at UAB when he decided to pursue a singing career instead. However, they real-ized their sound was too unique to drop and began searching for a group

to complement Janeway’s powerful, expressive style. In early 2013, the band brought in Ben Tanner, keyboardist for the Alabama Shakes, to produce their first full-length album, “Half the City”. The band’s sound can best be described as

neo-soul with hints of both modern Motown and Southern jazz. Horns and rhythm guitars dominate the band’s soundscape, perfectly accompanying Janeway’s unique voice, similar in respect to that of a white and more energetic Otis Redding. Having been raised on a healthy diet of Southern gospel – and sneaking in bits of Marvin Gaye and Sam Cooke – Janeway explains in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times that his attraction to soul was only natural, even if forbidden by his tight-laced parents: “Soul was kind of my ice cream as far as music goes. It was the only thing I could get that wasn’t sup-posedly good for me.” So far, the band has met enthusias-tic support not only in the southeast but from the rest of the country (and globally) and has started on a regional and world tour. You can find tickets and concert dates at stpaulandthebrokenbones.com.

The good, the bad, and the ugly of your summer readingBy MARY NIX ROBERSON and CAROLINE

LOWEOpinions Editor and Staff Writer

It’s the last thing you want to do in the summer: school work. But some summers are more manageable than others, especially if you have decent summer reading books. We polled MBHS students to find out which books you didn’t mind reading, and which you couldn’t stand.

Photo by Caroline LoweAmelia Putnam can’t stand Great Expectations.

Photo by Caroline LoweCatherine Campbell is frustrated by Star Girl.

Photo by Caroline Lowe Eric Voigt being entertained by Glass Castle.

Sophomores

Juniors

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli and Grayson by Lynn Cox

SeniorsThe Maze Runner by James Dash-ner and The Glass Castle by Jean-nette Walls

Overall Best Mel McComber – Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. “I thought it was interesting and thought her life was interesting too.”

Griffin Osborne – Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. “I thought it was a good story and it was well written.”

Catherine Campbell – Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. “It was boring and I didn't understand it.”

Patrick Dowd- The Maze Runner by James Dashner, “It was the best book I’ve ever read.”

William Scott – Grayson by Lynn Cox “I thought the book was so cliché.”

Austin Russell – The Curious Case of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon. “The book gives a look and perspective of a mind that works on their own.”

Nichole Edge – Grayson by Lynn Cox. “It is an awful book and was poorly written.”

Amelia Putnam – Great Expecta-tions by Charles Dickens. “It was hard to read, it had a circular plot, and not a very good central plot message.”

Overall Worst

By CAROLINE LOWE and MARY NIX ROBERSON

Staff Writer and Opinions Editor

highroadtouring.com

It’s the last thing you want to do in the summer: school work. But some sum-mers are more manageable than others, especially if you have decent summer read-ing books. We polled MBHS students to find out which books you didn’t mind read-ing, and which you couldn’t stand.

thursday, May 1, 2014The Sword & Shield 9FeaturesLet’s talk politics: Just a Chat with Davy Bennett

By CHAMBLEE SHUFFLEBARGERStaff Writer

Chamblee Shufflebarger: Tell me a bit about your football experience.Davy Bennett: Football was a lot of fun, and there were good times and bad times definitely. But I think most of the senior class would agree with me that it was an experience that was well worth it, especially for the wins. Like most people, my favorite part was beating Vestavia and, of course, there was beating Hoover as sophomores.CS: What does being a southerner mean to you?DB: A southerner is a person who is from the South. There’s a culture in the South. My entire family has lived in the South for literally a hun-dred years. There’s some pride to it, a regional pride. I’ve been to other parts of the country and loved them, but the South is definitely home. My grandmother is the quintessential southerner. She’s from Montgomery, she has the most south-ern accent that I’ve ever heard, and she’s just the sweetest person. I swear she knows everyone in the whole state and their extended family, too. Everyone just loves her because she’s so nice and so genuine. I try to emulate that.CS: What political party do you identify with?DB: I support the Republican Party, but I don’t necessarily identify with them, and that’s because I don’t think a third party could win any mean-ingful election. The Republican Party needs to be the vehicle for freedom-oriented candidates.CS: How have you developed your political views?DB: I started off in 2008. I was a big McCain guy even though I was in, like, 7th grade. I started to

explore things. I found out a little about Liber-tarian ideology. Then I began to explore Milton Friedman, and everything changed really because I realized that the people who call themselves conservatives are really not advocating the values of freedom to the extent they should be. In that way I identify more with the Libertarian Party- advocate freedom, minimize government. Reagan said in an interview that he felt that Libertarian-ism was the heart of conservatism, and I share that belief.CS: Who is your favorite president?DB: My favorite president is by far Calvin Coolidge. Now I love Reagan, of course, and I love Jefferson. But in my opinion, of modern presidents, Calvin Coolidge was the most suc-cessful. You don’t read much about Coolidge in a textbook because he didn’t do a whole lot, but that he didn’t do a whole lot is why I consider him successful. It’s funny because the most famous presidents that did a lot are the ones who did the most damage to the Constitution. Coolidge believed in letting the market do its own thing, letting the people decide. Unemployment actually got down to 1% while he was president. CS: Who is your least favorite president?DB: I’d be tempted to say the current one, Presi-dent Obama, but I think that it would be FDR. It used to be a common belief that FDR got us out of the Depression, but he attempted to do this through government policies. In my opinion, the New Deal prolonged and even deepened the Great Depression. You can look back in history for more successful solutions. In 1920, for ex-ample, there was a stock market crash that was actually worse than the Stock Market Crash of

1929 that supposedly started the Great Depres-sion. Warren Harding basically did nothing, and unemployment levels went back to normal within a year. They simply let the market readjust and run its course like one would do with a fever. In the case of the Depression, FDR tries to step in, with good intentions, and makes a bad situation worse.CS: As a graduating senior, how would you de-scribe your experience at Mountain Brook?DB: I love Mountain Brook. I think that it was a great community that I grew up in. I was fortu-nate to have lots of friends to celebrate with me on the good times and helping me through the bad times. I’m definitely looking forward to leav-ing and starting a new time in my life. CS: You have three words to describe yourself, what are they?DB: I’d say: laidback, argumentative, and friendly.

By JOHN COOPERStaff Writer

If you have been making the rounds to your favorite Birmingham venues, you might have stumbled upon Early Americans. Though Bir-mingham is not considered a music hub, this indie folk-rock band shows that the Magic City can create qual-ity music that competes with other music around nation. The band’s latest release, “Lovers,” features 4 songs that were recorded with a make-shift studio in one of their homes. These days, bands no longer need to go into an expensive

state-of-the-art studio to record themselves. With the proper skill, musicians can record in their hous-es, and it is clear from their record-ings that Early Americans knows what it takes to record quality music. In an interview with AL.com, guitarist Joey Wilson gave a quick summary of the recording process: “Drums are recorded in the garage where it's hard to get the mics po-sitioned around all the abandoned workout equipment and power tools, let alone even getting to the drum set itself. Zach is at his command station with all the wires leading to his mixer and computer. Matt is isolated in a bedroom closet singing into a microphone while playing his guitar. I recorded all my electric gui-tar parts while sitting on Zach's bed. It's a very supportive mattress.” The EP showcases the band’s in-die sound. Senior Kit Goldschmidt explains his take on their music: “To me, they have a sort of Americana type sound, but with folk rock mixed in.” The band definitely has a folk-rock sound, but would not disap-point music fans without tastes for more Appalachian-indie sounding tunes.

Early Americans has plans to record a full-length album in the near future. Though the band has not shared plans with its fans yet, it is likely that they can be seen playing at Iron City, Workplay, or another

local venue this summer. Any additional information can be found on their facebook page at facebook.com/earlyamericans.

Photo by Chamblee Shufflebarger

Early Americans capture the home-made sound

magiccitypost.com

WE CELEBRATEDWE REMEMBEREDWE FOUGHT BACK

AND WE RAISED

FOR THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY

$228,000 (and counting)

Photos by Chandler Gory, Margaret Heath, Caroline Lowe, Catherine Lowe, and Olivia Burton

thursday, May 1, 2014 The Sword & Shield12Sports

By MATHILDE SHARMANBusiness Manager

Rutgers University, located in New Jersey, boasts an attractive campus spanning across Camden, Newark, and New Brunswick. As of July 1, 2014, Rutgers University will join the Division I Conference, the Big Ten. Mountain Brook Se-nior, Tatum Jackson will join the Rutgers women’s golf team as the University heads into its first year in the Big Ten. Each year, the software company Hewl-ett-Packard Company, HP, and the American Junior Golf Association, AJGA, select 24 young men and women whom they feel perform be-yond measure as students and golfers. The AJGA describes the requirements that were used to select the member of the HP Scholastic Junior All-America Team: “To be eligible to apply for the HP Scholastic Junior All-America Team, boys must have placed in the top 10 of an AJGA Open or Invitational, while girls needed a top-five finish. The selections were then based on grade point average, class rank, SAT/ACT/PLAN/PSAT scores, commu-nity service and writing ability. Candidates were required to submit an essay no longer than 500 words on an original topic relating to golf.” Jackson was chosen as one of the 12 young women to receive this prestigious award. On the Rutgers Women’s Golf webpage, Head Coach, Maura Ballard, discussed signing two

impressive recruits, Jackson and her future team-mate Emily Mills of New Jersey. “It is a very exciting time for the Rutgers Women’s Golf program. We are thrilled to be in a position to sign these two top prospects who excel at a high level not only on the golf course, but also in the classroom,” Coach Ballard ex-plains. “This is a sign of great things to come for our program.” Ballard also commented, “Emily and Tatum are prime examples of the excellence we strive for every day within our department,” Coach Ballard adds. “They will each make a distinctive, positive impact on our team leading us into our next level of play in the prestigious Big 10 Conference.” Jackson explained that her father, Steve Jack-son, urged her to pursue golf. “My dad really encouraged me to play golf because it’s such a lifetime sport, something you can enjoy with or without a team. He saw golf as a sport centered around integrity and character building and real-ly hoped I would enjoy it. Additionally, Jackson shared her experience for athletes interested in playing collegiate sports. “The recruiting process is really stressful, but it works out in the end if you talk to coaches to make sure the school and its program fits you. Don’t just focus on your sport; focus on the school and what you want as a whole out of your college experience.” As the school year concludes, Jackson looks forward to becoming an athlete and a student at Rutgers. “I’m looking forward to getting better as

golfer with the Rutgers team. Their practice has more team practice where you’re doing whole team drills versus high school golf, which is more individual. Plus, all around it’s a great school that’s really close to New York City with lots of great opportunities academically as well as athlet-ically.”

A Future Scarlet Knight: On to Rutgers with golfer Tatum Jackson

Courtesy of Caroline McCalleySenior Tatum Jackson takes a swing during a tournament.

By ALEC LEWISSports Editor

With summer upon us and The Masters complete, golf is in season. The locals are heading to their country clubs and preparing for their summer relaxation out on the course. For the Mountain Brook Spar-tans, though, golf is played dif-ferently. The Spartans compete to win, and no one knows that more than senior Taylor Eyster. Over the past few years, Eyster has been a staple in Alabama High School golf tournaments and due to his succcess, he received an offer to continue his golf career at UAB. “At UAB I loved the players and the coaches that lead their program to the success that they are at now,” said Eyster. “Other schools that showed interest in me were Samford, Southern Miss, North Alabama, and South Ala-bama.”

Eyster has won multiple tour-naments over the last few years on the Southeastern Junior Golf Tour, including both the Vestavia Junior Classic and the Huntsville Junior Invitational, and he attributes that to his ability to find the short grass off of the tee. “The best part of my game is driving the ball. I haven’t always hit the ball straight, but I’ve re-cently had Mountain Brook junior Wilson Simmons critiquing my swing and that has allowed me to gain distance and has improved my accuracy.” This season is Eyster’s last, so he’d like this team to go as far as possible, but with the early loss-es to Spain Park, the team knew it had some work to do. Eyster stressed that “as a team, we have played solid all year, but Spain Park kept beating us out in the beginning. Recently, all five of us have improved, leading to our 22-stroke victory over the Jaguars in the Tom Bell Classic.” Up next for this Spartans golf

team are sectionals this week, and then the sub-state and state tournaments for the two weeks to follow. The team is hoping it can make another run at the title.

Mountain Brook senior golf player Taylor Eyster signs with UAB

Photo courtsey of Benny EavesTaylor Ester accepts trophy from Aza-lea City tournament.

thursday, May 1, 2014The Sword & Shield Sports13Sports

By: SCOTT LEPLEYStaff Writer

Mountain Brook tennis teams competed for state championships last week in Mobile. The girls team capped off an undefeated season with a state championship and the boys finished runner-ups. The tennis teams hold the most state championships in the history of Mountain Brook athletics with a total of 49 championships be-tween the boys and girls teams. The undefeated state champi-onship girls team is led by seniors Mary Martha Grizzle and top singles player Carlee Petro. The girls finished the regular season 15-0 and were heavy favorites for the state title, having had no real threats for their top spot. Junior Lil Kilgore said, “This is the best team the girls have had in a while. We went into the state champion-ship looking for nothing less than first.” The girls last won the state championship in 2012. The boys team finished the regular season 13-2, placing sec-ond at the state playoffs behind Vestavia. The boys suffered two losses all season, both at the hands of Vestavia. Captains Jacob Weinacker and Sam Lidikay play the top two singles spots, while Ben Shearer rounds out the top three for the boys with Yates Jackson at four. Jackson said, “We’ve shown we can beat anybody when we play well. After coming in second place so many years in a row, we wanted

first this year more than ever.” At sectional playoffs, the girls took the top spot and the boys placed second, both earning trips to the state playoffs. Shearer and Jackson were singles section champions for the boys and Eli-nor Anthony, Olivia Howe, and Kilgore were section champions for the girls. Shearer and freshman David Faulkner both finished first at

their spots of 3 and 6 singles at the state playoffs as well. For the girls, Petro, Howe, and Kilgore were each first at their singles spots of 1, 3, and 5. Next season, both Jacob Wein-acker and Carlee Petro will con-tinue their careers at Birmingham Southern with the Panthers.

Mountain Brook serves up 49th tennis state championship

Photo courtesy of Susan FarlowGirls team’s leaders: Kathryn Sours, Lil Kilgore, Olivia Howe, Mary Martha Grizzle, Carlee Petro, Elinor Anthony, Margaret Anne Clark, and Sarah Cooper.

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By BROOKE TUCKERStaff Writer

Mountain Brook Varsity softball is well on its way to a successful season. Softball coach, Kaitlin Griffin, who was hired after her stint at Tuscaloosa County High, is determined to bring the Spartans to state her first coaching. “Our main goal was for the seniors to do something that they have ever done before in their softball career,” said Griffin. “and that would be to get to the state tournament.” The Spartan softball team held their senior night Monday, April 21, in a celebration of arguably the five most polished seniors in Spartan softball history. The night was full of tears and reminiscing, but the team was still able to knock of Clay-Chalkville easily with a score of 15-0. “The fact that we beat them by so much just made our senior night so much better,” said senior Courtney Shea. “It’s sad to think this is the last season I will play with these girls.” The team will play in the area championship next weekend, and as of now, they are ranked 2nd behind rival, Vestavia Hills. This tournament will determine what seed the Spartans will be for regionals next week. Senior Anne Peyton Baker hopes that the team can bring their best to area, “I hope that we play to our full potential in the playoffs, and by doing that I think we can go as far as we want to go.”

Spartan varsity softball strives for state in playoffs

Photo by Image Arts(Clockwise from center): Anne Peyton Baker, Grace Morrissette, Caroline Boone, Allye Lott, and Elaine McDonald.

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By NATALIE JONESStaff Writer

After months of preparation, the MBHS girls soccer team looks forward to competing in the upcoming state play-offs, hoping to continue their winning streak after last year’s triumph over Oak Mountain in the 6A state championship. “I think we have a chance to reach our potential and re-ally excel this year, and I think that everyone, myself included, would love another trip to the final four,” said Coach Scott Flowers. Even though the team has won 11 and tied 2 of the 17 games they’ve competed in, the road to success hasn’t always been easy. Throughout the sea-son the team has had to over-come a lot of challenges in order to peak for the playoffs. One of the main challeng-es the team faced was coming together after losing 11 seniors from last year’s varsity team. Seniors Elizabeth Clutton and Cate Armstrong, juniors Anna Catherine Gillespy, Lowry Neil, Sarah Grace Lindsey, and Ansley Peacock, sophomores Adelaide Kimberly and Nicole Strahl, and freshman Heitho Shipp are the only returning players from last year’s team. “We knew this year was going to be a little bit more of a strug-

gle because we had so many new players. The team has had to really come together in order to put ourselves in a position to make a run at the playoffs,” explained Flowers. Although the team’s technical game will be important through-out the playoffs, Coach Flowers believes that the team’s mental mindset will be equally as cru-cial to their success. “In getting prepared for the playoffs we’ve really focused on mentally preparing and being in the right mindset to play fearless without worrying about making mistakes,” said Coach Flowers. As the playoffs approach captains Cate Armstrong and Elizabeth Clutton also prepare to lead the team and feel that the team has what it takes to make it through the playoffs and into the championship. “The team is truly like my second family, and I’m going to miss seeing them every day once the season is over. I am so proud of the team’s resilience from last year. We’ve gained 11 new players and played the hardest season yet. I think we’ve done an awesome job and our hard work will show in State,” said Clutton. Armstrong is also proud of the team’s adaptability after losing so many senior players and will miss the feeling of being part of a team.

“Our team saw a lot of change, and we’ve been able to adjust very quickly and not let it affect us. In the upcoming playoffs, I’m most nervous about the Vestavia game in the sec-

ond round because they’re our toughest competition, and it will probably one of our toughest games,” said Armstrong.

Girls soccer overcomes challenges, prepares for state playoffs

Photos courtesy of Eleni Shipp & Image Arts(Top) The varsity soccer team celebrates their victory over Thompson 3-0. (Bot-tom) Senior Elizabeth Clutton offers a high five during a game.

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thursday, May 1, 2014 The Sword & Shield16Reviews

By BROOKS GLOVERStaff Writer

In contemporary American film, no director has a style as distinctive as Wes Anderson. Noted for his meticulous, dollhouse-like visuals and often whimsical tones, Ander-son leads the current indie cine-ma with films such as “The Royal Tenenbaums,” “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” and “Moonrise Kingdom.” His eighth feature, “The Grand Buda-pest Hotel,” was released in select theaters early March but has since come to Birmingham with its wide release. “Grand Budapest” stars Ralph Fiennes as a concierge at the esteemed Grand Budapest Hotel named Mousier Gustave who takes bell boy Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori) under his wing. Through Zero’s eyes, we see Gustave as an exquisitely charming perfectionist and cad who is framed for the mur-der of his lover, Madame D (Tilda Swinton). Centered around Madame D’s death and “Boy with Apple,” a MacGuffin-esque painting that drives the film, it becomes a Wes Anderson-style crime drama with typical Anderson dialogue and

backdrops. Gunfights, highspeed chases, and Nazis are juxtaposed with macroons, a purple-centric color palette, and quirky facial hair. Fiennes absolutely excels as Gustave and makes one wonder why he has strayed from comedies in the past. Balancing lewdness and sophistication expertly, Fiennes leads “Grand Budapest” in both laughs and heart. The remainder of the cast seems to be a greatest hits compilation of Anderson’s previous films including Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Jason Schwartzman, Wilem Dafoe, Adrien Brody, Ed-ward Norton, Jude Law, and Owen Wilson. Even newcomers Saoirse Ronan and Tony Revolori seam-lessly fit into the director’s stylized work. While “The Grand Budapest Ho-tel” has a plot that shows Anderson at his darkest and most reckless, his idiosyncratic production traits are all present. A nostalgic, sentimental script is delivered throughout, as if it came from a Hemingway novel. Backdrops and settings are beau-tifully and meticulously designed and have the vibrancy of a popup book. And as always, the charac-ters’ quirkiness cover up a univer-sal, profound loneliness. “The Grand Budapest Hotel” lacks the emotional core of Wes Anderson’s previous films, yet is most likely his most mature. In lieu of unrequited love or family trouble, we see uncharacteristic vi-olence and murder. In “Grand Bu-dapest”, an emotional core is simply substituted with one of action. Its limited release makes it un-certain how long the film will stay in theaters. I highly recommend going and seeing the best film of 2014 so far.

“Grand Budapest Hotel”: one of Wes Anderson’s best

Photo courtesy of Amazon.comThe most recent Wes Anderson film, “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” promis-es its viewers a grand adventure.

thursday, May 1, 2014The Sword & Shieldthursday, May 1, 2014The Sword & Shield 17Reviews

By COKE MATTHEWSStaff Writer

The new Brick & Tin restau-rant, which recently opened next to Mason Music on Cahaba Road in Mountain Brook Village, offers casual dining options in the same spirit as their popular downtown location. The menu features panini sand-wiches with a selection of fillings, such as chicken, brisket, or ribeye, on breads baked fresh in their bakery. Paninis are served with a choice of soup or salad, and all but the ribeye are less than $10. Like the paninis, the soups are made from fresh, locally sourced prod-ucts. The current menu also offers several entreés including snapper, flat iron steak, and chicken scallo-pini ranging from $18-$25. Kids also have their own menu with fa-vorites such as grilled cheese, PB&J, or mac & cheese. Brick & Tin also has an ad-joining bakery that provides fresh bread for both of its restaurants and

is now open for retail sales as well. The shelves are full of freshly baked flatbreads, focaccias, and multi-grain breads just to name a few. There are plans for the bakery to expand to offer their own dressings and desserts. The bakery opens into the restaurant itself but has its own separate entrance to make it easier for take-out orders. Owner Mauricio Papapietro worked with local star chefs Frank Stitt of Highland’s Bar and Grill and Chris Hastings of Hot and Hot Fish Club, but his restaurants have a much more casual feel. Custom-ers place their orders at the counter when they enter and pay, and the food is then delivered to their ta-bles. Of course, every restaurant review needs to tell the reader if the food is any good, right? Well, I definitely recommend the new Brick & Tin. I have now sampled several of the paninis, and my personal favorite is the beef brisket with white barbeque sauce. The brisket just melts in your mouth.

The sandwiches are tasty and large, though a little messy to eat, but I’m not complaining! I also sampled the spring chicken panini with spinach, cheese, and roasted garlic, and it was quite good. Even though I’m a fan of Gilchrist’s and could probably live

on Davenport’s Pizza, the Brick & Tin is a tasty change of pace in Mountain Brook Village. So, if you haven’t done so already, you should give Brick & Tin a try.

Brick & Tin: quick and affordable high-quality food

Photo by Coke MatthewsFresh baked breads line the shelves in Brick & Tin’s bakery.

By BEN JACKSON & RICK LEWISFeatures Editor & Co-Editor in Chief

Taco Bell’s launch of a breakfast menu, for me, was an event of much anticipation. Tacos are a staple of my diet, and while I don’t fre-quent the Bell often, the concept of a Waffle Taco gets me more excited than almost any-thing. Co-Editor Rick Lewis and I took an early morning trip recently to try out the new offer-ings. I tried the Waffle Taco first. Complete with egg, cheese, and a choice of bacon or sausage, it was by far my favorite menu item. I was even given a packet of maple-flavored syrup to com-plete the waffle experience. Well done, Taco Bell. My second favorite item, marketed as a breakfast choice but served all day, was the Cinnabon Bites. Warm and filled with icing, the Cinnabon bites encompass all of the love-able parts of a cinnamon bun in a convenient bite-size package. I know I will be back to order them again sometime very soon.

My final item, the A.M. Breakfast Taco, left me unimpressed. With the same filling as the Waffle Taco, the A.M. Breakfast Taco seems un-original and lacks some sort of innovation, like the Waffle Taco’s fluffy shell. In fact, most of the menu items (the aforementioned, and the break-fast burrito) were the same filling components, just wrapped in different ways. It’s still tasty, but the variety is lacking. Rick decided to try the A.M. Bacon Crunchwrap, a variation of the original Taco Bell Crunchwrap – meat, cheese, lettuce, to-mato, and a crispy taco shell all wrapped and grilled inside a soft taco shell. The A.M. Crunchwrap comes complete with eggs, bacon, cheese, a crispy hash brown, and a spicy pepper sauce wrapped up in a soft tortilla; according to Rick, the wrap had just the right amount of crispiness and flavor and was quite easy to eat as all of its insides stay neatly wrapped inside the tortilla. On the other hand, Rick ordered a small cof-fee and commented that it tasted like tap water and dirt – an unpleasant combination. Taco Bell

coffee is an absolute no-go. That being said, I still recommend you give Taco Bell’s breakfast a try. The Waffle Taco and the Cinnabon Bites are the perfect way to Live Más earlier in the day.

Más from Taco Bell: The Breakfast Menu Arrives

Photo by Ben JacksonThe neon signs beckon tantalizingly while advertis-ing Taco Bell’s new breakfast

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thursday, May 1, 2014 The Sword & Shield18Reviews

Captain America: The Winter Soldier a sure hitBy FRANCES HANCOCK

Staff Writer

I was worried when I heard that Marvel was planning to make a sequel to “Captain America: The First Avenger.” Sequels are rarely as good as the original movies, and with all of the top ten movies in 2011 being adaptations or sequels, originality is scarce. Would this movie just be a feeble attempt to recreate the success of “The Avengers”? Was it made simply because Marvel knew that fans would rush to see it? My fears were quickly put to rest within the first ten minutes of the movie. From start to finish “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” lived up to Marvel’s reputation of brilliant action scenes scat-tered with humorous dialogue at the most oppor-tune moments. “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” was released on April 4 with Chris Evans returning as Captain America and Scarlett Johansson making an appearance as the Black Widow. The movie follows Steve Rogers as he adjusts to his life in the new and advanced digital world where he finds himself. In addition to the returning two avengers and the traditional cameo appearance by Stan Lee, Marvel adds a couple of new faces to the mix, as well as the unexpected return of several familiar faces from the first movie. Every time I relaxed enough to daydream, I would get pulled back to attention with a loud explosion. The action of this movie does not overshadow the plot development for a second, but rather helps

move the story along. Unlike the majority of recent films, “Captain America” does not focus on romantic relationships, but rather on the bonds and complex-ity of friendship. In fact, Captain America and the Black Widow periodically make fun of the exagger-ated importance of romantic relationships through-out the movie. The absence of romance allows for

the attention to be centered on the importance of unity, trust, and loyalty within a team while still keeping the audience emotionally engrossed in the characters. Marvel displays its talent for mixing brilliantly executed and dramatic action scenes with humorous lines throughout the film. No dialogue is wasted and all of the comedic lines induce a thunderous roar of laughter from the audience. The storyline of the movie is cunningly written so that whenever I thought I had figured out what was going to happen, the plot took a completely surpris-ing yet not implausible turn. Mixed with references to the other Avenger movies, “The Winter Soldier” fulfills the Marvel tradition of creating a story that is separate from the other Marvel movies yet still ingeniously connected to the main storyline of the Avengers. The movie concludes with not one, but two Easter Eggs. The first egg appears a few minutes into the credits and once again connects the movie to the other Marvel movies and joins the Captain America story with Thor. However, the second clip depicts a scene that sets the stage for future Captain America movies. All in all, Marvel does not disappoint with this film, but rather continues its legacy of bringing classic comic books to life. This movie lives up to its name and really is a marvel.

Photo courtesy of Google ImagesCaptain America continues to defend his country in his latest blockbuster.

thursday, May 1, 2014The Sword & Shieldthursday, May 1, 2014The Sword & Shield 19Opinionsthursday, May 1, 2014The Sword & Shieldthursday, May 1, 2014The Sword & Shield Opinions

By KARY REYNOLDSNews Editor

As a high school senior, when I heard that there was a Candy CrushTM club at the junior high, I played it cool. After all, we have tons of important and meaningful clubs up here at the high school, so I can live without a group cen-tered on super-addictive apps that I really need to stop playing. Not impressed, MBJH. Not impressed.

But then I looked around and had to ask myself, “Where are all our clubs?” They were definitely here at the beginning of the year, but, like Waldo, they have once again disappeared, and I am left wondering, “Where to?” Obviously, there are clubs like Interact that have a main focus all year long, so it makes sense that some groups would be less active after their big event was finished. But this problem reaches a lot further than these cases; as far as I can tell, there don’t seem to be more than a couple of the clubs we started out with that are still active now. In part, this is due to the lack of built-in time. Now that the junior high has built in hours, of course there are more clubs to fill them, and because we lack any club days after Homecoming, it’s easy to see how they would tend to disappear. My issue is that we have so many groups that can make a big differ-ence in student life and the com-munity, such as Natural Helpers, GSA, or the ping-pong club, but all of these seem to have disappeared

from the main student body. Opportunities to work with these clubs can be fun, useful, and

exciting, so reviving them as a year-long practice is a great way to help students and our city as a whole. Meeting outside of school to plan or volunteer for an activity is probably even easier than during school hours since no one will have multiple clubs to visit. At the end of the year, obvious-ly it can be difficult to work yet another activity into the schedule of research papers, AP exams, and extracurricular, but I think every-one can agree that the goals we set for ourselves when we join these

clubs are worthwhile or that at the very least, they are better than Candy Crush.

MBHS clubs post-homecoming: where are they now?

“As far as I can tell, there don’t seem to be

more than a couple the clubs we started out

with that are still active now.”

MBHS students should be more serious about clubs if they want to make a difference.

By ALEC LEWISSports Editor

It’s been 6 years, 6 long years since the Mountain Brook baseball team last won the area championship. But with consecutive vic-tories against Vestavia, the Spartans advanced to face Gardendale in the first round of the 6A state playoffs and haven’t looked back from there, beating Gardendale and squeaking past Hewitt-Trussville to score a spot in the 3rd round to face Sparkman. Fans can point to the hitting or the versa-tility throughout the lineup, but the Spartans’s pitching is the skill that sets this team apart, and head coach, Lee Gann, agrees, “I’ve got to tip my hat to all of our pitchers. Hunter Hol-comb, Alan Hale, Davis McDougal, Burt Bel-lande, and really all of our pitchers have done just a fantastic job for us.” But with pitching comes the help in the field, and the Spartans excel in that area as well. The team, led by senior center-fielder Pete Ber-ryman along with junior shortstop Andrew Autrey, knows that holding the errors to a minimum produces wins, and that is all that the team strives for.” “We take pride in everything we do in the field, and the outfielders really have to be fo-cused on every pitch because the slightest hes-itation could be the difference between a catch and a hit,” said Berryman. “Fortunately, my job is made easier by the fact that our other out-fielders make great plays on a regular basis as well as our infield that has really been reliable

throughout the season which gives our pitchers the confidence they need on the mound. In Mountain Brook’s opening game (in the most recent series) against Trussville, the team struggled. The Spartans weren’t able to get hits, and junior pitcher Hunter Holcomb didn’t have his best stuff. But that happens, and in game two, the Spartans were able to turn that around. The team knew it was do or die, and the juniors, didn’t want to let the seniors down that way. Especially, junior and 2015 Auburn com-mit, Jack McPherson, who said, “We don’t give up and we always keep fighting.” With the Spartans’ backs up against the wall, something clicked and in consecutive at-bats by Autrey, McPherson, and juniors Drew Odum and John David Kubiszyn, the team was able to string together hits leading to a game 2 win to force a game 3 on Saturday. And in game 3, Mountain Brook sopho-more, Burt Bellande, took the mound hoping to advance the Spartans to round three. With 5 innings pitched and the score knotted in a 2-2 tie, J.D. Kubiszyn came up to the plate for Mountain Brook. Kubiszyn, who has been one of the most consistent hitters throughout the year, punched one to center scoring Odum giving Mountain Brook the lead, which allowed for the bringing in of the Spartans closer, Davis McDougal. McDougal, who has given up just 2 runs in 35 innings pitched, is a submarine pitcher which is a rarity in the game of baseball today. But McDougal prides himself on it and the hard work that it takes, “Practice. It (submarine

pitching) is not something you can go multiple days or even hours without doing. My form is easily thrown off if I stop throwing, which is why I’m a closer.” That mentality held true as McDougal came in and sealed the victory, propelling the team to round 3 of the playoffs, where only 8 teams re-main. Sparkman is the opponent and Sparkman will hold the venue and the Mountain Brook Spartans baseball team will look to advance to the semi’s in hopes to winning the first baseball state championship in school history.

Thursday, May 1, 2014 The Sword & Shield

NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATION: The Mountain Brook School system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability or age in any of its programs and activities and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The following persons have been designated to handle inquiries re-garding nondiscrimination policies: Dr. Dale Wisely—Director of Student Services (Title VI), (wiselyd@mtnbrook.k12.al.us); Mrs. Sylvia Harper—Personnel Director (Title IX), (harpers@mtnbrook.k12.al.us); Dr. Missy Brooks—Director of Instruction (Title II), (wildman-brooksm@mtnbrook.k12.al.us); Mrs. Shannon Mundy—Special Education Director (Section 504), (mundyl@mtnbrook.k12.al.us). Contact Information: 32 Vine Street, Mountain Brook, AL 35213, 205-871-4608.

20SportsSpartan baseball slides into to third round

of 6A state playoffs

Photos courtesy of Ben BrelandCutout: Drew Odum throws to first base in an Area 11 game against Vestavia.Left: Jack McPherson receives a pitch from Hunter Holcomb in a double header.Right: Davis McDougal delivers a submarine pitch to close out the game against Benjamin-Russell.